WASHINGTON — Thursday marked the 11th anniversary of a program that was created during the Obama administration to temporarily protect undocumented children from deportation.
But congressional inaction and legal challenges have led to more than a decade of limbo for the 600,000 people enrolled, with no end in sight. They are often called “Dreamers,” based on never-passed legislation in Congress called the Dream Act.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that was meant to be a temporary stopgap is now the only tool that protects those brought to the U.S. as children from deportation. A pending court case out of Texas will determine whether DACA is legal — and what happens next.
“It’s a little bit of a kick in the gut,” Salma Vizcaino Garcia, a 25-year-old DACA recipient who lives in Ellenwood, Georgia, said of the court case.
Vizcaino Garcia, who is preparing to apply to medical school, said she and many DACA recipients aren’t hopeful about the outcome of the Texas case. She said she’s focusing her efforts on advocacy, and educating people about the program.
She said she hopes that through collective action, enough people will urge state and federal lawmakers to create a permanent pathway to citizenship.
“I genuinely am of the opinion, if I was able to talk to every person that was against us, that I could change their minds,” she said. “We’re just regular people. We’re just trying to live our lives.”
Stalled in Congress
For more than two decades, Congress has tried and failed to pass immigration reform.
With the current divided Congress, the only recent bipartisan piece of legislation is from six U.S. House lawmakers called the Dignity Act. The bill doesn’t specifically address DACA recipients, but is aimed at creating a legal pathway to citizenship for the estimated more than 11 million undocumented people in the country.
If the bill manages to clear the House on a bipartisan vote, it would still need to reach the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. The last time Congress passed major immigration legislation was during the Reagan administration in 1986.
A case in Texas threatens the legality of the DACA program, prompting immigration advocates and attorneys to lobby the Biden administration to exert its authority to use Deferred Enforced Departure, which is not a specific immigration status, but allows those covered to be exempt from deportation for a certain period of time.
The Texas challenge is likely to reach the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority. A decision likely would come in the spring of 2024, or later.
President Joe Biden issued a DACA statement on Thursday urging Congress to act.
“While Vice President Harris and I will continue fighting to pass legislation to protect Dreamers and create a path to citizenship, only Congress can provide permanent and lasting stability for these young people and their families,” Biden said. “Congress must act to protect our Dreamers.”
